While the origin and ideology of the deadly Boko Haram sect are disputed, everyone agrees its harassment of women has been total during its campaign to carve out a state ruled by strict Islamic law.
Asta Ahmadu, from Gulak, Muslim. Born in 1978, she spent three months in Boko Haram captivity.
The sect has abducted at least 12,000 women and girls since its six-year insurgency began.
Nowadays, most of these women are still held in bush camps, where they endure forced labour, combat, torture, and sexual slavery.
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Andy Spyra, a freelance photographer currently based in Germany, made a photo essay of these “wives of Boko Haram.” These Nigerian women were held in Boko Haram custody for months — some even longer. They ran away, but going home is another matter.
1. Laraba Bitrus
Laraba Bitrus was working when Boko Haram militants invaded.
She was working in a small grocer’s shop in Gwoza town when Boko Haram insurgents attacked it. The armed men took her captive, beat her with a lash, and made her watch as they cut off her uncle’s head.
After 11 days, the woman fled on foot, traveling through the bush to Madagali, where she stayed until the terrorists took over that small town as well, forcing her to flee again, this time further south to Yola, the capital of Adamawa state, where she now lives in the Catholic St. Theresa’s refugee camp. She was one of the lucky ones.
Salamatu Ibrahim, from Duhu, Muslim. Born in 1961, she spent five months in Boko Haram captivity.
2. Mary John Ibrahim
The Christian woman in her early 50s was working in the state hospital in Gwoza when the sect raided the area and burned down the hospital.
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With many other locals, she fled in panic to the bush, only to be later caught by the Boko Haram militants and taken back to Gwoza, where she was held for two weeks. During that time, she was made to convert to Islam. When Mary declined, she was beaten severely and starved as punishment.
Hajaru Buba, from Michika, Muslim. Born in 1981, she spent seven months in Boko Haram captivity. Her child is the result of rape by a Boko Haram fighter.
One night, the woman was able to escape and hide in the mountains along the Cameroonian border, where, for one month she was hidden and fed by local Muslims, who later on helped her cross the border to Cameroon.
3. Tani Bitrus
During the takeover of Gwoza, 60-year-old Tani Bitrus was captured together with 50 other women by the insurgents. Her husband was executed by Boko Haram.
Hauwa Isa, from Duhu, Muslim. Her birthdate unknown, she spent eight months in Boko Haram captivity.
The woman during her month-long captivity was forced at gunpoint to learn Islamic teachings; when she confessed to being unable to read the Quran, the woman was beaten.
One day on her way to the market Tani and three other women ran away, helped by Muslim women of the same Salidva tribe. Finally, they escaped to Cameroon and, after that, to the St. Theresa’s camp in Yola.
Zainab Musa, from Duhu, Muslim. Born in 1951, she spent four months in Boko Haram captivity.
A February report published by UNICEF and International Alert said that these women are often referred to as “Boko Haram wives.” The women who decided to give birth to their Boko Haram children are thought tainted because they have “bad blood.”
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Many of the women who escaped from the insurgents are afraid to go home.
These pictures were taken in a safe location in Yola, away from the St. Theresa’s refugee camp on a hot day in January.
Zainab Isa, from Duhu. Born in 1999, she spent seven months in Boko Haram captivity. Her son, Isa (pictured), is the result of rape by a Boko Haram fighter.